The Denver Broncos ran their winning streak to nine games with a convincing 34-17 road victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Cornerback Chris Harris made the play that irreversibly turned the tide in Denver’s favor, returning an interception 98 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half that gave the Broncos a 17-0 lead. The play was the longest interception return for a score in Broncos franchise history. Peyton Manning threw for 204 yards and a touchdown, but the offensive star of the day was Knowshon Moreno, who cleared the century mark for the second straight week with 118 yards rushing. The victory moves the Broncos to 11-3 and into second place in the AFC standings, putting them in position for a first-round bye with two weeks to go. The Broncos host the Cleveland Browns next Sunday.

Jordan Hooper scored 24 points and Lindsey Moore added 20 points as the Husker women’s basketball team upended previously unbeaten South Florida 62-52 on Sunday afternoon in Tampa. Hooper also hauled down 14 rebounds, giving her five double-doubles for the season and 22 in her career. The Huskers went on a 12-0 run early in the second half to break a 36-36 tie, capped off by a three-point play from Tear’a Laudermill, and never trailed again, leading by as much as seventeen points in the second half. Nebraska held the Bulls to just 26% shooting in the contest and kept them without a field goal for a four minute stretch as the game wound down, preventing a comeback. The Huskers move to 8-3 with the win. They’re back on their home floor to take on Oral Roberts on Thursday, the first of four straight home games.

Six players scored in double figures as the Denver Nuggets won their second straight game with a 122-97 road rout of the Sacramento Kings. Javale McGee led the way with 19 points. Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points, Jordan Hamilton contributed a career-high 15 points, Kosta Koufos scored 12 points, and Andre Iguodala and Ty Lawson each chipped in 11 points. The Nuggets get back over the .500 mark at 13-12 with the win. They host San Antonio on Tuesday night.

The fourteenth-ranked Husker wrestling team posted a 1-1 record at the inaugural Grapple at the Garden at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Nebraska topped Rutgers 22-10 before falling to eighteenth-ranked Maryland 19-17. The Huskers are now 6-3 in dual competition. They next compete at the Midlands Invitational in Evanston, Illinois December 29th and 30th.

FULL RESULTS:

Match #1 Round 1: Nebraska defeated Rutgers 22-10
125 – Joe Langel (Rutgers) over Skylar Wood (Nebraska) MD 9-1
133 – Vinny Dellafave (Rutgers) over Shawn Nagel (Nebraska) Dec 9-3
141 – #19 Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) over #20 Trevor Melde (Rutgers) Dec 3-0
149 – #9 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) over Kenny Theobold (Rutgers) Dec 7-2
157 – Brandon Wilbourn (Nebraska) over #13 Scott Winston (Rutgers) MD 13-2
165 – Austin Wilson (Nebraska) over Nick Visicaro (Rutgers), SV 3-1
174 – #8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) over #10 Greg Zannetti (Rutgers) Dec 6-2
184 – #6 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) over #14 Dan Rinaldi (Rutgers) Dec 4-0
197 – Caleb Kolb (Nebraska) over Dan Seidenberg (Rutgers) Dec 1-0
285 – Billy Smith (Rutgers) over Donny Longendyke (Nebraska) Dec 4-2

Match #2 Round 4: Maryland defeated Nebraska 18-17
125 – #13 Shane Gentry (Maryland) over Skylar Wood (Nebraska) Dec 5-1
133 – Shawn Nagel (Nebraska) over Josh Polacek (Maryland) MD 12-4
141 – #19 Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) over Frank Goodwin (Maryland) Dec 4-0
149 – Shane Arechiga (Maryland) over Skylar Galloway (Nebraska) Dec 8-3
157 – Danny Orem (Maryland) over Brandon Wilbourn (Nebraska) Dec 2-1
165 – Tyler Koehn (Nebraska) over Anthony Guidice (Maryland) MD 13-2
174 – #8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) over Aaron Norris (Maryland) Pin 1:38
184 – #10 Jimmy Sheptock(Maryland) over #6 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) SV 6-4
197 – #16 Christian Boley (Maryland) over Caleb Kolb (Nebraska) Dec 3-1
285 – Carl Buchholz (Maryland) over Donny Longendyke (Nebraska) TB 3-2

Lagging Lakers in D.C.

UNDATED (AP) — The struggling Los Angeles Lakers take a four game losing streak into Washington to face the league’s worst team, the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are 3-16, but one of those victories is against the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat. The Lakers lost last night to the Knicks in New York

Elsewhere in the NBA…..

— The Memphis Grizzlies still have the league’s best record, but they have cooled off a bit and have lost two in a row. They face a tough test in Denver. The Nuggets are struggling too, they have lost six of the last nine, but only one of those games was at home.

— The Golden State Warriors will go for a 6-0 start on their seven-game road trip tonight. They are in Orlando to play the Magic. Golden State has never won the first six games of any road trip but is in position to accomplish that after edging Miami 97-95 Wednesday. The Magic beat the Warriors earlier in the season on the road.

— The Utah Jazz are riding a season-best four-game winning streak into Phoenix to play the Suns. Phoenix just snapped a seven game losing streak.

— The Boston Celtics travel to Houston in hopes of getting their third straight win. The Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday in a victory over Washington.

Also tonight, Dallas is at Toronto, Philadelphia visits Indiana, Milwaukee is at Cleveland, Detroit is in Brooklyn to play the Nets, Minnesota is at New Orleans and Sacramento visits Oklahoma City.

Kevin Youkilis, Yankees finalize $12 million deal 

Bengals batter Eagles

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Andy Dalton threw one touchdown pass and ran for another score, an opportunistic defense forced five turnovers and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Philadelphia Eagles 34-13. The Bengals improve to 8-6 and grab a half-game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) for the last playoff spot in the AFC.

The Bengals would clinch their second straight playoff berth with a win over the Steelers if Pittsburgh loses to Dallas this Sunday. A loss to the Steelers, though, would likely ruin Cincinnati’s chances.

The Eagles’ season was lost a long time ago. They fell to 4-10, losing double-digit games for the first time since 2005.

RG III looking better

UNDATED (AP) — Robert Griffin III practiced on a limited basis a second straight day and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan says his rookie quarterback looked more comfortable than he was Wednesday. But Shanahan reiterated that he plans to wait as long as possible to announce whether Griffin or backup Kirk Cousins will start on Sunday against Cleveland.

Griffin suffered a mild sprain of his right knee late in last week’s game. Cousins replaced him on what proved to be a game-tying drive and then led Washington to victory in overtime.

In other pro football news:

— Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant says he will play with a broken finger Sunday against Pittsburgh. Bryant was listed as a limited participant in practice Thursday. That’s an upgrade from a day earlier, when he sat out. The third-year pro fractured his left index finger in last weekend’s 20-19 win at Cincinnati. He caught a touchdown after getting injured. Bryant practiced with a padded white glove that had the tip of the finger exposed.

Rangers losing former MVP

UNDATED (AP) — Josh Hamilton resurrected his career with Texas. Now he’s taking his prolific bat to the West coast, where he’ll play for the Los Angeles Angels.

According to Texas general manager Jon Daniels, the free-agent outfielder has signed on with the AL West rivals.

Two people familiar with the talks tell The Associated Press that the 31-year-old outfielder is getting a five-year deal worth $125 million.

Texas had hoped to re-sign the 2010 AL Most Valuable Player, who led the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

Hamilton batted .285 with 43 homers and 128 RBIs last season.

Hamilton’s $25 million average salary matches Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard for the second-highest in baseball. They trail only Alex Rodriguez’s $27.5 million average with the New York Yankees.

Elsewhere around the major leagues:

— Ichiro Suzuki and the New York Yankees are closing in on a contract that would guarantee the outfielder between $12 million and $13 million. The 39-year-old outfielder revived his career in New York after he was acquired from Seattle on July 23. The 10-time All-Star batted .261 with four homers, 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 95 games with the Mariners, then hit .322 with five homers, 27 RBIs and 14 steals in 67 games for the Yankees to help them win the AL East.

— The Cincinnati Reds and free-agent infielder Jack Hannahan finalized a $4 million, two-year contract. It gives the team added depth at third base. The 32-year old hit .244 for the Cleveland Indians last season with 16 doubles, four homers and 29 RBIs in 105 games.

— Andres Torres is returning to the San Francisco Giants, reaching agreement on a one-year contract, pending a physical. The 34-year-old outfielder spent the 2012 season with the New York Mets following three years with the Giants. He hit .230 this year with three home runs, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 132 games.

Hawks grab piece of division lead

UNDATED (AP) —Atlanta has pulled into a tie with idle Miami for the NBA’s Southeast Division lead. Devin Harris scored a game-high 20 points off the bench to help the Hawks beat struggling Charlotte 113-90 and improve to 14-6.

After getting off to a respectable 7-5 start, the Bobcats have lost 10 in a row.

Knicks 116 Lakers 107

NEW YORK (AP) — Carmelo Anthony scored 22 of his 30 points in the first quarter, and the New York Knicks held on after he departed with a sprained left ankle to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-107 in coach Mike D’Antoni’s return to Madison Square Garden. Firing in 3-pointers and moving the ball to open shooters, things they often struggled to do under D’Antoni, the Knicks won for the eighth time in nine games and improved to 9-0 at home for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

Meanwhile, things are starting as poorly for D’Antoni in Los Angeles as they ended in New York. The Lakers, still without Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, were never really in the game while losing their fourth straight and falling to 9-14.

Raymond Felton scored 19 points, and Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith added 18 apiece for the Knicks.

Kobe Bryant had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. Metta World Peace finished with 23 points and Dwight Howard had 20.

Trail Blazers 98 Spurs 90

PORTLAND (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 29 points to lead Portland to a surprise 98-90 win over San Antonio. The Spurs drop their second straight and fall to 18-6. The Trail Blazers up their mark to 10-12. Tony Parker topped the Spurs with 21 points.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley was a full participant at Thursday’s practice and is no longer listed on the team’s injury report. A hip injury has limited Stokley recently. He has caught 36 passes on the season but none in the last two weeks. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard and guard Chris Kuper, both recovering from ankle injuries, were limited in practice but are expected to play Sunday as the Broncos play at Baltimore in a game pivotal to the AFC’s playoff chase.

Nebraska junior designated hitter Mike Pritchard was named a preseason second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Pritchard earned third-team All-American honors and first-team All-Big Ten honors after his sophomore season, in which he batted .387 and put together a 25-game hitting streak, the third-longest in program history. His .379 average in conference games led the Big Ten. The Huskers open their season on the diamond February 15 at Cal-State Bakersfield.